Tag: deal

The U.K.’s international trade minister said on Sunday that the Brexit process was at risk of being “hijacked” by ‘Remainers’ within parliament. May is expected to address Parliament on Monday afternoon and to set out how she intends to deal with the Brexit deal impasse. Remainers and Brexiteers remain at loggerheads over Brexit and what level of closeness the U.K. should have to the bloc in future, however. “You’ve got a ‘leave’ population, and a ‘remain’ parliament,” Liam Fox told the BBC on S

The Irish “backstop” – a fall-back option intended to keep the Irish/Northern Irish border open if the U.K. and EU fail to strike a trade deal in a 21-month transition period following the departure date in March 2019 – has been a key stumbling block in Brexit negotiations.

It’s controversial as it would mean that Northern Ireland, a part of the U.K., stays roughly aligned to the rules of the EU’s single market in a bid to avoid a “hard” border with Ireland. That has proved controversial for lawmakers across the spectrum and May was expected to focus on resolving the backstop issue in a bid to persuade politicians within her own Conservative party and the opposition to back her deal.

The U.K.’s international trade minister said on Sunday that the Brexit process was at risk of being “hijacked” by ‘Remainers’ within parliament. May is expected to address Parliament on Monday afternoon and to set out how she intends to deal with the Brexit deal impasse.

Remainers and Brexiteers remain at loggerheads over Brexit and what level of closeness the U.K. should have to the bloc in future, however.

“You’ve got a ‘leave’ population, and a ‘remain’ parliament,” Liam Fox told the BBC on Sunday.

“Parliament has not got the right to hijack the Brexit process … What we are now getting are some of those who were always absolutely opposed to the result of the referendum trying to hijack Brexit and in effect steal the result from the people.”

Meanwhile, the Shadow Brexit Secretary Kier Starmer said that the U.K. now needed to be “realistic about what the options are” when he spoke to the BBC’s Andrew Marr show Sunday.

Kamal Sharma, director of G10 FX Strategy for Europe at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told CNBC on Monday that the direction May’s deal will take, and how the wider Parliament reacts to it, is crucial this week.

“There’s been very interesting developments over the weekend, it does seem that the Conservative party still is grappling with itself rather than a negotiation between itself and the EU,” he told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe.

“So while Parliament doesn’t actually have a ‘Plan B’ — whether it be a customs union or a ‘Norway plus’ arrangement — it does have a majority for a no-deal, so what will be more important this week will be those amendments that come through and the power of those amendments in terms of votes.”

A ‘Norway plus’ arrangement (so-called as it’s the trade deal that Norway has with the EU) would mean that the U.K. is not a member of the EU but is in the European Economic Area and part of the single market.

British Prime Minister Theresa May announced tweaks to her much-maligned Brexit deal on Monday, in the hope of winning over lawmakers who overwhelmingly rejected her proposals last week. A major sticking point to her withdrawal deal is an agreement to ensure no hard border returns between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. “The right way for this house to rule out ‘no deal’ is for this house to approve a deal with the European Union,” she said. May said she would continue to hold furt

British Prime Minister Theresa May announced tweaks to her much-maligned Brexit deal on Monday, in the hope of winning over lawmakers who overwhelmingly rejected her proposals last week.

A major sticking point to her withdrawal deal is an agreement to ensure no hard border returns between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Some Brexiteers feel that “backstop” could be used by Brussels as a means to keep Britain within the EU while the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is nervous it would lead to Northern Ireland being treated differently from the rest of the U.K.

In a statement to the lower house of Parliament on Monday afternoon, May said she would now discuss with the DUP on how to allay fears among the people of Northern Ireland before returning to negotiate further with Brussels.

However, May said the prospect of a second Brexit referendum did not enjoy majority support and also rejected the growing calls for her to rule out a “no-deal” Brexit as a possibility.

“The right way for this house to rule out ‘no deal’ is for this house to approve a deal with the European Union,” she said.

In what appeared to be some small concession to opponents, May said her government would also guarantee that workers’ and environmental rights would not be eroded post-Brexit and that a £65 ($84) fee for EU nationals applying for settled status would now be abolished.

May said she would continue to hold further meetings on Brexit next week and hoped that opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn would hold talks with her. Corbyn’s response to May’s statement was to accuse her of failing to realize the extent of her defeat last week and that her cross-party talks have been a “sham.”

Prior to the statement, sterling sat at 1.2870 versus the dollar and rose to $1.2890 as she spoke.

Parliament will now debate Monday’s statement from the U.K. leader before a vote on the motion is taken on Tuesday January 29.

President Donald Trump on Saturday proposed limited legal protections for undocumented immigrants in exchange for money to build his proposed border wall, a plan meant to put pressure on congressional Democrats as the longest government shutdown ever drags into its 29th day. But the proposal quickly came under fire from recalcitrant Democrats, as well as conservatives leery of any deal that embraced “amnesty.” Before Trump announced the proposal Saturday, Democratic leaders rejected it as inadeq

President Donald Trump on Saturday proposed limited legal protections for undocumented immigrants in exchange for money to build his proposed border wall, a plan meant to put pressure on congressional Democrats as the longest government shutdown ever drags into its 29th day.

In remarks at the White House, Trump again pushed for $5.7 billion in U.S. funding to build “steel barriers in high-priority locations” — different from the Mexican government-funded concrete wall across the entire southern border that he proposed as a candidate. But the proposal quickly came under fire from recalcitrant Democrats, as well as conservatives leery of any deal that embraced “amnesty.”

The offer likely will not lead to a deal to reopen the nine U.S. agencies that remain unfunded as concerns grow about the 800,000 federal workers going without pay. Before Trump announced the proposal Saturday, Democratic leaders rejected it as inadequate or even “unacceptable” as details emerged in media reports.

The president backed legislation to give more than 700,000 immigrants, known as “Dreamers,” temporary legal status and work authorization for three years if their protection gets revoked. He also supported a three-year extension of the legal status of immigrants temporarily protected from deportation.

The president called his plan “straightforward, fair, reasonable and common sense” with “lots of compromise.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to bring the bill to a vote this week, which will fail unless seven Democrats support it. McConnell previously said he would not move a plan to end the government shutdown unless both the president and Democratic leaders back it.

Trump described his Saturday offer as a way to “break the logjam and provide Congress with a path forward to end the government shutdown and solve the crisis on the southern border.” He did not mention the government worker furloughed or working without pay during his comments.

Trump said the proposal includes some other provisions:

$800 million in “urgent humanitarian assistance”

$805 million for “drug detection technology to help secure our ports of entry”

2,750 more border patrol agents and law enforcement officials

75 new immigration judge teams

A mechanism to allow Central American minors to apply for asylum in their home countries

The olive branch comes as Trump faces pressure to end the partial closure that has inflicted financial pain on government workers, and disrupted services from food inspection to airport security. The president’s demand for money to construct the barrier — and Democrats’ refusal to fund it — led to the funding lapse that polls say Americans are increasingly blaming on Trump.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday there has been progress toward a trade deal with China, but denied that he was considering lifting tariffs on Chinese imports. “If we make a deal certainly we would not have sanctions and if we don’t make a deal we will,” Trump said. “We’ve really had a very extraordinary number of meetings and a deal could very well happen with China. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the United States on Jan. 30 and 31 for the next round of trade negotiations with W

President Donald Trump said on Saturday there has been progress toward a trade deal with China, but denied that he was considering lifting tariffs on Chinese imports.

“Things are going very well with China and with trade,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that he had seen some “false reports” indicating that U.S. tariffs on Chinese products would be lifted.

“If we make a deal certainly we would not have sanctions and if we don’t make a deal we will,” Trump said. “We’ve really had a very extraordinary number of meetings and a deal could very well happen with China. It’s going well. I would say about as well as it could possibly go.”

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the United States on Jan. 30 and 31 for the next round of trade negotiations with Washington.

That follows lower-level negotiations held in Beijing last week to resolve the bitter dispute between the world’s two largest economies by March 2, when the Trump administration is scheduled to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

According to sources briefed on the ongoing negotiations, cited exclusively by Reuters on Friday, the United States is pushing for regular reviews of China’s progress on pledged trade reforms as a condition for a trade deal — and could again resort to tariffs if it deems Beijing has violated the agreement.

“The threat of tariffs is not going away, even if there is a deal,” said one of three sources briefed on the talks who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Chinese negotiators were not keen on the idea of regular compliance checks, the source said, but the U.S. proposal “didn’t derail negotiations.”

A Chinese source said the United States wants periodic assessments but it was not yet clear how often.

“It looks like humiliation,” the source said. “But perhaps the two sides could find a way to save face for the Chinese government.”

The Trump administration has imposed import tariffs on Chinese goods to put pressure on Beijing to meet a long list of demands that would rewrite the terms of trade between the two countries.

The demands include changes to China’s policies on intellectual property protection, technology transfers, industrial subsidies and other trade barriers.

Abbott Laboratories: Investors who want consistency should consider buying into the stock of Abbott Laboratories, said Cramer, who owns shares for his charitable trust. Texas Instruments and Lam Research: Shares of these two “quality” companies that report Wednesday have been slammed, Texas Instruments’ from ties to Apple and Lam Research’s from the “downturn in flash and memory prices,” Cramer said. As for Lam Research, “I think the quarter will be weak, and there’s a new CEO,” he said. “But wi

Comcast: The NBC and CNBC parent will report earnings Wednesday as it waits for its deal to buy a majority stake in European television network Sky to close.

“I think the deal’s terrific because Comcast has grown so large that the regulators frown on them making more acquisitions here in the U.S.,” Cramer said. “The stock has flatlined, though. Maybe this conference call can get it off the schneid.”

“Once again, there’s currency risk, but management has a laser-like focus on growing this company again and I think they’ll be successful this quarter,” he predicted. “Remember that last quarter was the beginning of Procter’s outperformance. I bet it continues.”

Abbott Laboratories: Investors who want consistency should consider buying into the stock of Abbott Laboratories, said Cramer, who owns shares for his charitable trust.

“[CEO Miles White] is money, and the company’s medical devices, particularly its glucose monitoring device — a less expensive version of Cramer-fave Dexcom’s — is selling very well,” Cramer said. “I bet Abbott tells a very compelling story.”

Texas Instruments and Lam Research: Shares of these two “quality” companies that report Wednesday have been slammed, Texas Instruments’ from ties to Apple and Lam Research’s from the “downturn in flash and memory prices,” Cramer said.

As for Lam Research, “I think the quarter will be weak, and there’s a new CEO,” he said. “But with the stock down almost 100 points, I also think you can start buying Lam Research, betting that we’re near a bottom. […] While it won’t happen all at once, you need to be ready to pick some up if the stock gets hit.”

“When Bristol Myers reports on Thursday, I expect he’ll talk about how additive this deal is for the company’s earnings,” the “Mad Money” host said. “I think that, after Thursday, people are finally going to embrace this deal.”

In the case of the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ($4.1 million) and Rams’ Jared Goff ($7 million), their annual average salaries are a combined $11 million. Last off-season, the New Orleans’ signal-caller had a lot of leverage when he signed a free-agent deal with the Saints. To take a $25 million per year deal, when others were getting $30 million and above, allowed the Saints to use the extra money on the team. At $20.5 million per year, it’s a bargain for the Patriots, considering that 15 other qua

When the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints take to the field on Sunday to square off for a Super Bowl berth, each team will share one strikingly similar connection: Their starting quarterbacks all make less money than what they could make on the open market.

In the case of the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ($4.1 million) and Rams’ Jared Goff ($7 million), their annual average salaries are a combined $11 million. That’s because of league-mandated rookie-scale contracts that keeps a lid on what newly drafted players can make.

That cost-effectiveness is unlikely to last long, especially if both players continue to play at stratospheric levels and get offered big contracts at their next signing. But at least for the moment, Goff’s and Mahomes’ relatively low salaries are a big benefit to their teams, allowing them to spend money on weapons all around the quarterbacks.

It’s also why in the past, many young quarterbacks see instant team success. Seattle’s Russell Wilson, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick, Dallas’ Dak Prescott, and Washington’s Robert Griffin III are some examples of that effect in the last several years.

Even consider last year’s champion, the Philadelphia Eagles. The team had Carson Wentz for cheap ($6.7 million annual average), which allowed them to have a strong backup in Nick Foles, who took over for an injured Wentz to win the Super Bowl.

Then there are Drew Brees and Tom Brady. Last off-season, the New Orleans’ signal-caller had a lot of leverage when he signed a free-agent deal with the Saints. To take a $25 million per year deal, when others were getting $30 million and above, allowed the Saints to use the extra money on the team. At the time, it was noted as the most team-friendly contract in the league.

Yet Brady’s salary has become a point of debate and confusion for so many years. He consistently takes less money than he could. At $20.5 million per year, it’s a bargain for the Patriots, considering that 15 other quarterbacks league-wide make a higher average salary.

“Certainly the Rams and Chiefs did some serious spending with those cheap contracts in place,” said Andrew Brandt, a sports law professor at Villanova with past experience as an NFL player agent and an executive with the Green Bay Packers. “Tom Brady perennially takes less, and Drew Brees signed a market deal but he could have received more money.”

The pay disparity is even more jarring when considering the league’s six highest paid quarterbacks all missed the playoffs this year, while only one of those teams even finished with a winning record. That includes veterans like Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million), Matt Ryan ($30 million), Kirk Cousins ($28 million), and Matt Stafford ($27 million).

It’s possible teams start to notice that an extra $5 to $10 million saved on a veteran QB can buy a lot of help at multiple positions. However, that’s nothing compared to a team saving $20 to $30 million by having a young quarterback (who, of course is capable of playing at a very high level) on a rookie contract.

Six weeks after agreeing to slash production, major oil producers are finally giving investors some clarity on exactly how much crude they’ll take off the market. OPEC on Friday released a table laying out production quotas for each of its 14 members and the 10 allied countries participating in the deal. However, over the following weeks, international benchmark Brent crude prices fell another 18 percent. The continued slide reportedly prompted OPEC to urge oil producers to publicly release thei

Six weeks after agreeing to slash production, major oil producers are finally giving investors some clarity on exactly how much crude they’ll take off the market.

OPEC on Friday released a table laying out production quotas for each of its 14 members and the 10 allied countries participating in the deal. The two dozen nations agreed last month to slash a combined 1.2 million barrels per day in order to prevent a repeat of the oil glut that caused crude prices to tank from 2014 to 2016.

However, over the following weeks, international benchmark Brent crude prices fell another 18 percent. The continued slide reportedly prompted OPEC to urge oil producers to publicly release their production quotas to boost the market’s confidence in the cuts.

While oil prices have risen for the last three weeks, OPEC has nevertheless decided to publish the output levels under the deal, which runs through the first six months of 2019. The so-called OPEC+ alliance meets April 17-18 to assess the impact of the cuts.

Here’s how much each of the countries in the deal will endeavor to keep off the market:

After a string of headaches, some positive buzz appears to be brewing for China’s economy. The growing likelihood of even a limited trade deal with the United States combined with a ramp-up in Chinese stimulus are jointly making some experts more optimistic about the 2019 prospects for the world’s second-largest economy. LGT’s base forecast is for a deal by the middle of 2019, but Hofer said now is the time to get into Chinese markets. “I think it’s perfectly okay for investors to take on China

After a string of headaches, some positive buzz appears to be brewing for China’s economy.

The growing likelihood of even a limited trade deal with the United States combined with a ramp-up in Chinese stimulus are jointly making some experts more optimistic about the 2019 prospects for the world’s second-largest economy.

The escalating trade war was a dominant narrative in 2018 and has seemed to hit both countries’ economies and financial markets, with China largely seen as having taken the bigger blow.

The atmosphere, however, has changed after a 90-day truce began early in December. Negotiations in Beijing earlier this month were mutually hailed and more talks are in store. And the U.S. is reportedly even considering lifting tariffs to reach a deal. That is all helping create a positive atmosphere for some kind of agreement.

“The point is that both sides are now under a lot of pressure to get a deal done,” Stefan Hofer, chief investment strategist at LGT Bank in Hong Kong, told reporters on Tuesday, calling it “just something that has to happen.”

LGT’s base forecast is for a deal by the middle of 2019, but Hofer said now is the time to get into Chinese markets.

“I think it’s perfectly okay for investors to take on China exposure now in anticipation of that,” he said.

Political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a Thursday note it sees “increasing signs of momentum towards some type of interim deal” within this year. In its view, that’ll be driven mostly by U.S. President Donald Trump’s wish to calm markets and have a win to take into next year’s expected re-election bid.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the issue will be solved.

“The two sides have made only slight progress on the core structural issues at the heart of the trade dispute,” Eurasia Group cautioned.

Still, experts say reduced tensions and no increase in existing tariffs would mark a significant breakthrough. And that, combined with Chinese measures to support the economy point to a better outlook.

As leader of the largest opposition party in the Westminster Parliament, Corbyn has issued an order instructing his own MPs (Members of Parliament) that they should not hold meetings with Conservative opponents unless that specific precondition is satisfied. But a Downing Street spokesperson told reporters Thursday night that further government meetings with Labour lawmakers were expected Friday. After her narrow victory in a parliamentary confidence vote late Wednesday, May had said she would b

The British government has insisted that cross-party talks to find a consensus on Theresa May’s Brexit plans have been “constructive,” despite the refusal of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to engage in discussions with the prime minister unless she categorically rules out the possibility of the U.K. leaving the European Union without a deal.

As leader of the largest opposition party in the Westminster Parliament, Corbyn has issued an order instructing his own MPs (Members of Parliament) that they should not hold meetings with Conservative opponents unless that specific precondition is satisfied. But a Downing Street spokesperson told reporters Thursday night that further government meetings with Labour lawmakers were expected Friday.

After her narrow victory in a parliamentary confidence vote late Wednesday, May had said she would be prepared to engage with opposition party leaders in a “constructive” spirit, to find a way forward after her Brexit proposals were crushingly rejected earlier in the week.

But she has responded to Corbyn’s demand with a letter of her own, in which she insists that it was not in the government’s power to rule out “no deal.” She reiterated that such a move was “impossible” unless Parliament had voted in favor of a specific deal, or unless the government were to revoke Article 50 of Europe’s Lisbon Treaty.

She wrote that a revocation of that treaty clause, which governs a member state’s potential exit process from the EU, would mean overturning the result of the 2016 referendum, and this would be “wrong.”

In one of the more dramatic weeks in British politics, following the defeat of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit agreement and her government’s survival of a no-confidence vote, calls are now growing for a second Brexit referendum. Political leaders from the Scottish National Party (SNP), Wales’ Plaid Cymru, the Green party and Liberal Democrats are calling on their fellow opposition party, Labour, to join them in calling for a second referendum on Brexit, known now as a “People’s Vote.” Pasca

In one of the more dramatic weeks in British politics, following the defeat of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit agreement and her government’s survival of a no-confidence vote, calls are now growing for a second Brexit referendum.

Political leaders from the Scottish National Party (SNP), Wales’ Plaid Cymru, the Green party and Liberal Democrats are calling on their fellow opposition party, Labour, to join them in calling for a second referendum on Brexit, known now as a “People’s Vote.”

In an open letter to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn following the unsuccessful vote of no confidence which he called, and which the other opposition parties had supported, the party leaders said they were writing to “implore” him to now support their calls for “a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal.”

Pascal Lamy, former World Trade Organization chief, told CNBC Thursday that he too believed a second referendum “is now an option.”

“I would not have said that six months ago and I was among those who believed that the odds of a new referendum were extremely low but I think they’re clearly higher now. But of course for such a scenario to appear there has to be a ‘stop the clock’ between the U.K. and EU.”